Oakland Park pushes domestic partner benefits

A year after Broward County commissioners required that companies seeking to do business with the county offer their employees domestic partner benefits, Oakland Park is ready to follow suit.

City commissioners last week gave tentative approval to an equal benefits ordinance and will hold a final vote Nov. 7.

While only about 20 communities nationwide have implemented similar laws since San Francisco became the first in 1996, Stratton Pollitzer of Equality Florida is encouraged that momentum is building for others to do so.

Three Florida governments have policies — Broward, Miami Beach and Key West. Oakland Park would be the third approved in the past year.

"When Broward County did it, it drew the attention of many other cities that see themselves as inclusive and diverse places to live," Stratton said.

Vice Mayor John Adornato said the policy shift is the wave of the future.

"It's only going to become more important for companies to provide those benefits or they're going to fail," Adornato said. "It's going to be the norm. Until it is, I think we need to have something like this."

Under the proposed law, any company with at least 25 employees seeking a city contract of more than $100,000 would have to provide equal benefits to domestic partners and married couples.

"It's not about creating new benefits, but it's about ensuring that companies that provide benefits to the families of their employees provide the same benefits to registered domestic partners," Pollitzer said.

Commissioners originally were going to require the contracts be worth more than $200,000 for the rule to go into effect, but lowered the threshold to match Broward's law.

The commissioners also lowered the number of employees from 50 employees to 25 although the county has a five-employee rule. Commissioners were concerned the county's rule might be too onerous for smaller businesses.

"I support this to the extent that it doesn't negatively impact businesses," Mayor Anne Sallee said.

The city has a large lesbian, gay and transgender community, but getting the ordinance to a vote took time.

Commissioner Suzanne Boisvenue has been pushing the idea for five years, but until last month was unable to get a majority of commissioners to consider it.

"I couldn't be happier. All people should be treated equally and fairly, but that's still not happening," Boisvenue said. She's concerned about exceptions written into the ordinance.

It will not apply when another government is the contractor, when it involves a religious organization or a nonprofit affiliated with a religious group, when it's needed to respond to an emergency or when there is only one responsive bidder.